Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

“Saito Hajime?” She looked up, her face filled with disbelief. “You…how did you become like this? Did you create that thing?”

In her memory, Saito was supposed to be a somewhat introverted, burly man from Northeast China. But now he was thin, frail, and pale. Yet his eyes were sharp as knives!

“It’s me,” Saito nodded. “Ms. Alice taught me some things, and I’m mastering them now. I wouldn’t really recommend you visit my room right now, but if you insist, I won’t refuse.”

"You've become a different person."

“People always change.” Saito looked at her, then suddenly smiled, his sharp gaze softening. “I’m sorry, I was studying too diligently and accidentally caused some problems.”

“You must have something important to tell me. Come, let’s talk as we walk. I remember Xiao Honglu has some good food.” He reached out and led Zhao Yingkong to another room. Gently, yet firmly, he led Zhao Yingkong away from the door that had been pushed down.

After the two left, the door that had been pushed down slowly rose up as if it were alive and returned to its original position.

Author's Note:

..........................................

Surprised?

Chapter Thirty-Seven: All Is a Dream

Unexpectedly, when the two arrived at Xiao Honglu's room, they only saw an open door and an empty room behind it.

“It seems he might be temporarily unavailable due to some matters, so let’s talk outside.” Saito smiled, not entering the room, but standing at the doorway looking at Zhao Yingkong. “You probably want to ask me why such a big change has occurred, Miss Yingkong.”

Zhao Yingkong nodded slightly.

“It’s not a complicated reason,” Saito Hajime replied with a smile. “I wanted to contribute to the team, so I consulted Ms. Alice. What you see here is the result of my studies in this short period of time.”

"Your condition is not right."

“There’s always a price to pay for quick success.” Saito Hajime chuckled nonchalantly—he seemed to have become quite fond of smiling, but his smile was as pale as paper soaked in water. No, it should be said that his entire being was as pale as paper. “What’s more, what Ms. Alice taught me was an ancient secret art from our China. She gave me a total of six incantations, and I have already mastered the first three and am beginning to work on the fourth.”

He kept talking on and on, not caring whether Zhao Yingkong wanted to listen or not. But Zhao Yingkong didn't leave or show any sign of rejection, which perhaps indicated that she wanted to listen.

"Heavenly Demon?" Zhao Yingkong recalled that Saito Hajime had mentioned this term before.

“That’s right, the Heavenly Demon. A servant I summoned using the third incantation, the Demon-Slaying Seal. Intelligent, powerful, swift, and thick-skinned. Though it can be a bit disobedient at times… I think I’ll be able to handle it soon.” Saito Hajime clenched his fist slightly, as if he were holding a priceless treasure.

"I will summon more Heavenly Demons to aid us in victory in the battles to come. They are excellent killing tools; each one can easily annihilate an entire modern army lacking heavy firepower. Besides the Heavenly Demons, there are even more powerful Earthly Demons. As long as I can master the Fourth Chapter before reaching Cairo..."

Zhao Yingkong suddenly gripped his wrist tightly.

“Stop, Saito Hajime.” Her expression turned serious. “You’ve lost your way, lost in the power. Don’t you notice how strange you’re becoming? You’re… going mad.”

“Crazy?” Saito laughed. “No, I’m perfectly clear-headed. It’s precisely because I’ve learned these things that I understand the predicament we’re in right now. Can’t you see it? The dark clouds that stretch across the northern sky, those shadows, those mixed colors of light, that terrifying woman who’s getting stronger every second… Oh, you can’t see it.” His face suddenly turned dejected.

"Only Ms. Alice and I can see the imminent threat. Xiao Honglu may have realized something, but not deeply enough."

He shook his head vigorously.

“Forget it, there’s no point in talking about these things. People always only believe what they see with their own eyes. I’m like that, and so are you…” He pulled away from Zhao Yingkong’s hand that was tightly gripping his wrist. “You will eventually see it with your own eyes, Miss Yingkong. But you’d better be prepared before then. Life and death are just states, but not everyone can come back after crossing that line.”

“We don’t have much time left. I know you have doubts, you’re hesitant, you’re wavering. I can even see the undercurrent hidden in your heart—that’s normal. I was like that before I started learning these incantations. Everyone hesitates at times. But you’d better… hurry up.”

Zhao Yingkong fell silent.

..................................................................

"You'd better hurry, this can't go on." Alice stretched out her hand, and the dense net of puppet strings easily blocked Zheng Zha's attack. Her outstretched fingers clenched into a fist, and the flames and lightning falling from the sky smashed Zheng Zha through.

"That woman will possess power equal to, if not greater than, mine now. You can't even kill me, how could you possibly kill her?"

One after another, orbs of light coalesced behind the girl. These were plasma spheres, formed from high-temperature ionized gas. Their temperature and destructive power far exceeded the limits that mortal flesh could withstand. In an instant, Zheng Zha's right side vanished like a pencil drawing erased by an eraser. However, the next moment, granulation tissue grew from the carbonized wound, repairing its approximate shape within seconds.

"Where is your murderous intent? Where is your resolve? Do you think this is child's play, that you can get away with just a few empty words?"

The next moment, the air in front of Zheng Zha suddenly exploded, and his blood and qi surged like boiling lava, arriving in front of Alice in the blink of an eye!

"You're so noisy, Margot Lloyd!"

The dense net of puppet strings shattered instantly, followed by five or six layers of transparent magical barriers that crumbled like glass. Each of these layers was originally capable of withstanding close-range fire from a main battle tank, but now, under Zheng Zha's fist, they were as fragile as cling film.

The enhancement of his power had already begun, and the phantom of bat wings, formed by highly concentrated energy, was starting to appear behind Zheng Zha. His body was also enveloped in a violent flow of particles, providing him with extremely strong protection.

But that's not enough, far from enough.

Blood energy and internal force are merely undergoing transformation, not merging. The structure of the magic furnace is nowhere to be seen, and several hours have already passed.

Hamunaptra has accelerated to one-third the speed of sound, and the remaining time is dwindling. Meanwhile, the enhancement process is far from what was expected. Zheng Zha has failed to achieve his stated goal, and Alice has also failed to achieve her hidden goal.

There's a feeling of something loosening inside me, but unlocking my genetic potential is still a long way off.

If we can't unlock our genetic potential here, then we'll have to wait until the final battle... Isn't the mere pressure to survive enough?

Alice exhaled softly, releasing the last few magical shields protecting her. With a wave of her hand, an ancient Egyptian ceremonial sword used in rituals flew into her grasp.

The witch's strategy has always been to use a bow if possible, and a cannon if necessary. While melee skills are essential, she believes there's no need to put herself in danger if she can rely on external forces.

Why use a sword when an army can be wiped out by plague? Why risk wielding your own hands when a nation can be destroyed by natural disasters?

But that won't work, because people always fall into traps with poor compatibility when they least expect it. There will always be enemies who exploit your weaknesses and suddenly appear when you're caught off guard. Secrets can be lost, defenses can fail, and backup plans can be broken. And when that happens… you'll only be able to fight to the death!

She took a step forward, and the magically enhanced ritual sword collided with Zheng Zha's fist, which was wreathed in turbulent particle currents. A dozen seconds later, the collision of fist and sword triggered a storm that shook the entire floating fortress!

The brain is overclocked, neural responses are accelerated, and muscles and bones are strengthened to their limits. Even a one-second air raid can be stretched to the equivalent of several minutes. And as a dozen seconds pass and the violent sword wind rages everywhere, the number of clashes between blade and fist has approached a thousand!

The ritual sword shattered into fragments in an instant, along with Alice's entire right hand. However, at the same instant of disintegration, every cell was bound back into the shape of the arm by a strong gravitational field. The operating Isis Sanctuary then completely healed the necrotic tissue in the next instant.

Not enough... far from enough.

Zhang Jie offered Alice several ways to recruit others, but each had a necessary prerequisite: she had to break through at least one level of the genetic lock. This was because the main god did not allow members of the reincarnation team to recruit outsiders of a higher or equal level.

Becoming the captain of the Reincarnation Squad would grant direct access to a Tier 1 gene lock enhancement, but without Zhang Jie's help, victory in this battle is virtually impossible, so this option won't work. However, Alice can't afford to wait until the Central Continent Team has a captain in the next world before using captain privileges to purchase the Reincarnation Wristwatch to recruit members.

She couldn't wait, not even for a second.

She knew just how severe the alien curse she had endured for centuries was, and she also knew that if she had left Gensokyo and the devices that sustained her life and protected her from the curse, she would have only been able to live for a maximum of five more seconds.

If this is the case for her, then Patchouli is naturally the same. And once she leaves Gensokyo, part of the mechanism resisting the curse will cease functioning instantly. Even if she rushes back immediately, the shut-down system cannot be restarted in a short time. Under these circumstances, Patchouli's symptoms definitely won't last long.

Days? Hours? Minutes? Seconds?

She didn't want to think about this problem at all, but she knew she had to face it. The only way to solve it was to unlock her genetic lock in this battle, and then, the moment she returned to the God Realm, immediately go back to Gensokyo to take Patchouli away.

This matter must be accomplished; even if it means burning everything, there can be absolutely no mistakes.

She reached out her hand, and another ceremonial sword fell into her grasp.

"Fight me with the determination to kill me, Captain Zheng Zha," she said softly, her pretty face as cold as frost. "Otherwise, you might as well die here."

Author's Note:

..........................................

Tomorrow's update means I'll be posting two updates starting tomorrow. I originally planned to post two updates today too, but this section is a bit long... it's hard to break it up. To make it two updates, I'll probably have to write until midnight _(:з」∠)_

Hmm... I've been seeing "[Next Door]" in book reviews and comments lately. So I checked it out too, and it's pretty good, a good book.

So even though I feel like the big shots next door don't need my recommendation, since it's a good book, I should share it.

Even if it's just a friendly recommendation, I suggest you check out the book by the author next door, "I, Patchouli, Go!", if you're interested.

Section Thirty-Eight: This is the flower of farewell.

The battle in the square would continue until dawn, and while this fight, destined to be a draw, remained deadlocked, the others weren't just standing around doing nothing. As night fell and the sky was filled with brilliant stars, someone finally became the first to complete their planned task.

"That completes the task."

Xiao Honglu carefully injected the last drop of blood from the test tube into a mummy. Watching the bright red mark completely fade beneath the corpse's dried skin, he couldn't help but let out a small sigh of relief.

The blood is Evelyn's blood, and the mummy is Ankulna's mummy. The woman from the Indiana team took the Book of the Sun and Imhotep, but Imhotep's lover from thousands of years ago was clearly not among her considerations.

In the original work, resurrecting Ankula requires the blood of a pure virgin and incantations from the Book of the Sun. However, the blood does not necessarily mean that the girl who donates it must die, and resurrecting a dead person with an intact body and a cursed soul does not necessarily require the golden book.

At least not for Alice.

Xiao Honglu glanced at Evelyn and her group lying not far away. They had been hypnotized by Alice immediately after the raid on the Indian team and had remained asleep until now. This hypnotic effect was enough to last until the end of the story, and Alice had no intention of waking them up prematurely.

Unless it is necessary.

According to Xiao Honglu's deduction, since the Central Continent team's mission was to bury the undead priest Imhotep, then according to the rules of missions issued by the Supreme God, the Indian Continent team's mission was most likely related to Ansu-na. Since the Supreme God did not give the Central Continent team a deadline for completing the mission, the Indian Continent team's mission naturally couldn't be something like "protecting Imhotep from dying within...time."

Therefore... we must prepare in advance.

Xiao Honglu touched his pocket, where another item Alice had placed in his hand when giving him the task lay quietly. And if things didn't go as planned, that item might play a crucial role.

"I hope the situation doesn't get that bad. I want to live a few more years..." Xiao Honglu removed his hand from his pocket and let out a melancholy sigh. Even from the Resurrection Altar, he could hear the commotion coming from the central square, which showed just how intense the battle was there.

"It's giving you a headache, isn't it? I can tell you really enjoy pulling your hair out. Aren't you going to comb it out?"

A man's voice, accompanied by a thick cloud of smoke, came from the entrance of the temple where the altar was located. Even though they had only spent a short time together, Xiao Honglu could recognize Zhang Jie's voice.

“Brother Zhang Jie.” Xiao Honglu turned around and glanced at him. “My brain nerves are developing too vigorously, so my scalp gets itchy whenever I think. The reason I don’t scratch is because once I start, I can’t stop, and I don’t want to tear my scalp off.”

"The dilemma of intelligent people." Zhang Jie chuckled, walking to the opposite side of the altar and leaning against the stone platform. "The final battle should take place before dawn tomorrow. It'll only be a few hours at most. So, aren't you nervous?"

He glanced at the mummy on the resurrection altar and raised an eyebrow. "What new trick has Alice come up with this time?"

“Being nervous won’t help. Just do your job.” Xiao Honglu replied. “As for this… it’s just better to be prepared. She is Ansu-na, Imhotep’s lover, and she’s currently on the verge of resurrection.”

"The Indian team needs to obtain Cairo to trigger the next step of their mission. Based on the Central Continent team's previous experiences in other terrifying worlds and the information extracted from the Indian team's werewolf, I speculate that the Indian team's mission should be one or more of the following possibilities."

"Survive for a certain number of days, reach a certain location, kill the male and female protagonists, seize the two scriptures, and resurrect Ansuna. It should be one of these four." Xiao Honglu gently twirled a few strands of hair on his forehead, not pulling them out, just lightly pinching them. "According to that werewolf from the Indian team, the missions of the two reincarnation teams in team battles are often not absolutely conflicting; there's always some room for maneuver. And the missions themselves often represent changes to the plot, just as side quests are obtained by altering plot points that don't affect the ending, the main quest's goal is often to change the ending. Of course… this isn't absolute."

"Our main mission is to bury Imhotep... but according to the original story, even if we do nothing, Imhotep will still be buried by the protagonists. I interpret this as God's favor to our weaker team. So, to prevent us from 'winning without effort,' God will definitely assign the Indian team a mission that will conflict with us after they arrive in Cairo."

"It's a conflict, but not the kind without room for compromise. The main god didn't train multiple reincarnation teams just so we could fight to the death in the early to mid-stages of our development. As far as I know, even Captain Zheng Zha, who has the highest level of enhancement, is only a vampire baron and has enhanced internal energy. If our team had a bunch of A-level and S-level enhancements, that would be a different story. But now... this isn't how you raise poisonous insects."

“So we must have a way to compromise with the Indian team to complete the mission. If not…” He glanced at Zhang Jie. “Then it can only mean that the main god is unhappy with us.”

“Your reasoning is quite interesting.” Zhang Jie took out two cigarettes from his pocket, lit one for himself, and tossed the other to Xiao Honglu. “You’re young, so I won’t light it for you. It’s up to you whether you want to smoke it or not.”

"And then what? What good does it do after reaching such a conclusion? Those who deserve to be beaten still have to be beaten, right?"

“It can end everything sooner.” Xiao Honglu plucked a hair and stuffed the cigarette into his pocket. “That woman should arrive in Cairo soon to unlock the mission. If she doesn’t go, we’ll be there soon too, and our prisoners will also be able to unlock the Indian team’s mission. According to Alice, if that woman doesn’t go to Cairo, we’re doomed. If that happens, or if the battle becomes overwhelmingly unfavorable… then we’ll help the Indian team complete this mission and send them straight back to the Main God Space!”

“Is that so…” Zhang Jie took a deep drag, the cigarette between his fingers burning out in an instant. “You are a very promising intellectual. Apart from Chu Xuan, I have never seen anyone smarter than you. If that’s the case… then it’s not impossible for you to succeed.”

He lowered his head, letting the cigarette burn his fingertips. After a long while, he finally let out a low, rumbling sound, like rocks grinding together.

"I have a favor to ask you. Tell Alice that I..."

Before she could finish speaking, the girl's voice suddenly rang out above the resurrection altar.